CA ANZ welcomes Inland Revenue's draft guidance on the application of the permanent place of abode (PPOA) test to Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa holders. The draft provides useful clarification that residence under the PPOA test requires an overall assessment of the facts and circumstances, rather than relying on physical presence thresholds alone. CA ANZ particularly welcomes the practical examples and the confirmation that the guidance should be read alongside IS 25/16: Tax residence.

However, CA ANZ considers that further clarification would improve certainty for taxpayers and advisers, particularly regarding the interaction between domestic tax residence, treaty residence and transitional residence.

CA ANZ recommends that Inland Revenue:

• Expand the discussion distinguishing domestic residence from treaty residence.
• Provide additional guidance on the relevance of DTA tie-breaker provisions.
• Expand the discussion regarding the commencement of the transitional resident period. 
• Provide additional guidance on determining when a PPOA is acquired. 
• Clarify that family relocation is a significant but not determinative consideration.
• Revisit Examples 9 and 13 to ensure they do not inadvertently create the perception of an informal time-based threshold. 
• Expand the record-keeping guidance and practical examples available to taxpayers and advisers.

Overall, CA ANZ supports the draft's approach and considers that these refinements would improve certainty, reduce the risk of unintended interpretations and strengthen the guidance's practical value.